Photo credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Paul Rudd has just been crowned People‘s Sexiest Man Alive for 2021 – and we are in total agreement that the 52-year-old actor (yes, he’s 52, and no, we couldn’t believe it either!) deserves the title!

The Ant-Man actor is in good company, as last year’s winner was Black Panther star Michael B Jordan, while the 2019 honor went to John Legend. Other previous heartthrobs to hold the prestigious title include Idris Elba (but of course!), Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, Johnny Depp, and the late Sir Sean Connery, to name just a few.

According to the newly-crowned actor, he is extremely shocked to receive the title, as he told the mag that he believed there were so many other people who he thought would have been crowned before and even instead of him…

“I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?'” he said.

“This is not false humility. There are so many people that should get this before me.”

We wonder who he expected to be crowned the Sexiest Man Alive instead of him…

Perhaps his friends might be better people to ask, as Paul told the publication that he fully expects his friends and family to give him “so much grief” about the title…

“As they should. I would,” he told People.

“I mean I’m going to lean into it hard. I’m going to own this. I’m not going to try to be like ‘Oh, I’m so modest. I’m getting business cards made.

“But all of my friends will destroy me and I expect them to. And that’s why they’re my friends.”

The Friends actor mentioned that wife Julie Yaeger, who he has been married to since 2003, might not make fun of him in the same way he expects his friends to, but he admitted that she was still “stupefied” by the magazine’s choice…

“But you know she was very sweet about it. After some giggling and shock, she said ‘Oh, they got it right.’ And that was very sweet,” he added.

“She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?”

We think that, once again, People have made an excellent choice. You can check out Paul Rudd’s entire feature – including lots of pictures worthy of the Sexiest Man Alive title – right here.